285. How the Church deals with problems during the Mass
285. HOW THE CHURCH DEALS WITH PROBLEMS DURING THE MASS
The way the Mass may look from Heaven’s eyes is one thing, and perfect; but the way it can look from earthly eyes seems very different, not only because subjectively our earthly hearts are far from Heavenly sight but also because very concrete, physical problems, some of them very embarrassing, may arise in this very imperfect world. Did St. Thomas ever consider the effects of such problems?
Objection 1. It sometimes happens that before or after the consecration the priest dies or goes mad. . . .
Objection 2. It sometimes happens that before the consecration the priest remembers that he has eaten or drunk something, or that he is in mortal sin, or under excommunication. . . .
Objection 3. It sometimes happens that a fly or a spider or some other poisonous creature falls into the chalice after the consecration; or even that the priest comes to know that poison has been put in by some evilly disposed person in order to kill him. . . .
Objection 4. It sometimes happens from the server’s want of heed that water is not added to the chalice, or even the wine overlooked. . . .
Objection 5. It sometimes happens that the priest cannot remember having said the words of consecration. . . .
Objection 6. It sometimes comes to pass owing to the cold that the host will slip from the priest’s hands into the chalice. . . .
Objection 7. Sometimes too it happens, owing to the priest’s want of care, that Christ’s blood is spilt, or that he vomits the sacrament received, or that the consecrated hosts are kept so long that they become corrupt, or that they are nibbled by mice, or lost in any manner whatsoever; in which cases it does not seem possible for due reverence to be shown towards this sacrament, as the Church’s ordinances require. It does not seem then that such defects or dangers can be met by keeping to the Church’s statues.
On the contrary, Just as God does not command an impossibility, so neither does the Church.
I answer that, Dangers or defects happening to this sacrament can be met in two ways: first, by preventing any such mishaps from occurring; secondly, by dealing with them in such a way that what may have happened amiss is put right, either by employing a remedy or at least by repentance on his part who has acted negligently regarding this sacrament (III,83,6).
Notice
(1) that St. Thomas takes these questions quite literally and seriously and realistically;
(2) that his answer is first to emphasize prevention rather than cure (a good general principle for all problems in all areas of life, including politics, business, and warfare both physical and spiritual);
(3) that cures or remedies are assumed always to be findable, so that even in these unusual, bizarre, and extreme cases we need not despair, for “God does not command an impossibility”;
(4) and that St. Thomas does not dictate exactly what the remedy is in each case, but leaves it up to common sense and personal prudence and imagination. Perhaps he (or the people of the Middle Ages generally) had too great a confidence in these qualities; or perhaps, more likely, we lack it!